Der Blogger

"Enough is enough!" "This can't go on!" "This has to stop!" These were among the comments that came through the blizzard of commentary after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County. We have heard these words before.

Wanderlust

As a travel destination, Germany has never been more popular. With tourist numbers forecast to rise for an eighth consecutive year, what is the country doing right to account for its thriving visitor numbers?

Akademia

For education experts, English language lessons have proven valuable in primary schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. But the Alternative for Germany’s state parliamentary group in NRW have a rather different view.

Essen & Trinken

Police in the city of Osnabrück had to clear crowds in front of a new döner kebab shop on Tuesday, after about 150 hungry people packed the street outside, eager to get their hands on a döner for only €0.01.

Germericana

Many Americans have German ancestors — and that's also the case for actress Meghan Markle, who will be marrying Prince Harry, himself a descendant of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a German dynasty.

Angela Merkel announces coalition talks with FDP and Greens

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday that her Christian Democratic Union would hold talks with the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Greens in a bid to form a “Jamaica” coalition, which she says is the only realistic option to form a reliable government.

The “Jamaica” coalition is named after the Caribbean country because the three parties’ signature colors of black, yellow and green correspond to the Jamaican flag.

Merkel made her announcement at an event in the eastern city of Dresden
The CDU, along with its Bavarian sister party, the CSU, won the national election on September 24 with nearly 33 percent of the vote.

They have been widely expected to start coalition talks with the pro-business FDP, which won nearly 11 percent, and the Greens, which won just under 9 percent, after the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) said it would not continue as the junior partner in another “grand coalition” with the CDU/CSU.

The SPD was the junior partner in two “grand coalitions” between 2005 and 2009 and then again after 2013. But after the party received a historically low 20.5 percent of the vote in the September election, SPD leaders decided on entering the opposition.

“It is clear that the SPD is not able to govern at the national level for the foreseeable future,” Merkel said on Saturday. She added that the CDU should “not waste any further thoughts on this issue,” and instead concentrate on reaching an agreement with the CSU, the FDP and the Greens.

The Greens’ Katrin Göring-Eckardt and Cem Özdemir (pictured) have their differences with the Bavarian CSU

Merkel said that she would meet with the leader of the CSU, Horst Seehofer, on Sunday to discuss a common position with which to approach the FDP and the Greens.

She called on the CSU to come to an agreement with the CDU on a yearly limit on refugees, a demand the CSU has repeatedly made but Merkel, the FDP and the Greens oppose.

She also said that any final coalition agreement among the “Jamaica” partners will be voted on at the CDU party conference. “I support the expectation that we discuss and adopt a potential coalition agreement at the party conference,” she said.

Speaking at the same youth conference, CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt said, as far as his party was concerned, some things were not negotiable in coalition talks. This was particularly true in dealing with the Greens, he added.

“There must be red lines. There are points for us that are not negotiable. We cannot bolster our conservative credentials and , at the same time, pretend we agree with the Greens on a broad number of things.” Photo: FDP leader Christian Lindner.

The “Jamaica” coalition is the only realistic combination of parties left that could form a parliamentary majority. The leaders of the CDU/CSU, the FDP, the Greens and the SPD have all ruled out entering a coalition with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which won nearly 13 percent of the vote.

Kultur

The German term "Heimat," often translated as "homeland," was long thought of as tacky, regressive, and even politically dubious. But since the election, German politicians across the spectrum are using it once again.

Das Kino

This month's Berlin film festival, Europe's first major cinema showcase in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein revelations, will shine a light on sexual misconduct in the industry, its director said on Tuesday.

Gesundheit

In the run-up to international World Cancer Day on Sunday, experts have said that about half of all cancer cases in Germany could be prevented by a healthier lifestyle. Across the country, around 500,000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year. But experts say things like exercise could cut this figure in half. “Movement can […]